I am a recent member of the Harry Potter fandom, but I have always had a passion for the written word, and I hope to fulfill it here. I live in a relatively boring corner of Idaho, and I like Kokanee and a good book!

So, I suppose you're wondering what's up with my username. Even if you're not, this is how that happened. No, I was not aspiring to be a Gryffindor. I can't think of any house to which I would belong less than Gryffindor, in fact. It was a moment of clarity that I got while I was battling with myself about whether I should want to be Sorted into Gryffindor to be like Harry or to be Sorted elsewhere and follow my own path. I thought it to be much like the contemplative scene in Hamlet when he weighed taking his own life. I'm not trying to be melodramatic. That's simply is what popped into my head when I was trying to sign up to leave a review. :D

This is the story of Harry J. Potter and Ginny M. Weasley, their lives, friendships, realtionships and everything in between. Life doesn't always take the road they expect or want, but they soon learn that no matter what they do or how hard they try, the world stops for no man and that simply put, Life Happens.

Primarily Harry/Ginny but with Ron/Hermione background. Picks up after the end of book 5 and continues into Post-Hogwarts.

Awwwwwww! I have always and always will be a huge sucker for a sappy love song. A dance in front of the Eiffel Tower without giving a damn about who's watching is the tantamount of romanticism, and I love it!!!

Summary: Lord Voldemort is no more, but the victors paid a high price. This story begins as Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s seventh year comes to an end and Ginny's starts. While delving into the ancient story of Merlin, Percy Weasly brings attention to what appears to be the complete collapse of magic. Can he, or anyone stop the changes before it's too late?

Fascinating (and delightfully convoluted) tale. I really enjoyed reading this one, because the depth of the plot was astounding. The sheer volume of things to be realized by the reader is phenomenal, and I hope you enjoyed writing it as much as I did reading it, because it was a sensational story.

Summary: Choices; every single person on this earth has them. Some are small, and other ones affect the course of the future. A boy who would later become the most powerful dark wizard of all time had a choice, and that choice, was the choice of Tom Riddle.

This piece was extremely fascinating. Now, I’m going to tell you what really struck me as a reader. : )

From the opening paragraph, this woman that you've created has been a mirror of the Tom that we know – with one minor exception. To me, the fact that you didn't give the countess a name added to that alluring mystique that you built around her. Her views on love, relationships, and the desire for power make her unusual, make her dark, and above all, make her dangerous.

One thing that really made the story of the countess more powerful is that she did not start off perfect. Far from it, in fact. From her humble upbringing in a single parent household, to her alcoholic mother, her shyness, and her abusive boyfriend, all of these things lent to a character that is real, multidimensional, and what I like to think of as perfectly flawed. Each one of these lemons that life has thrown her; she took them and made others eat them by turning the tables, by ‘improving’ herself. Her self-confidence is off the charts, and to me, that’s what really makes this whole story for me.

Her identity crisis after school, from leaving her boyfriend to live in the Muggle world, up to the point when she left her Muggle life behind, helped to establish a baseline for me as a reader. This was her at one of her lowest points in life, the point when she decided that there was nowhere to go but up, and she was the one that would make that happen. It takes some sort of guts and determination to decide to leave everything behind and start anew, and while having magic does help, it’s still an upheaval of an emotional sort. Her very fabric as a person, that inner strength that got her through a terrible childhood, shines through in her ability to make the necessary changes in her life, to achieve what she believes she wants – power. Ironically, she gets this power by leaving behind what other people wanted her to be, as illustrated by this:

She had found it fascinating that now, when she no longer dreamed or desired men or love, they yearned for her and her love.

Isn’t it funny, she thought to herself one day as she caught the attention of a man sitting at another table in the restaurant, when I no longer need anybody, they need me.

The countess’s demeanour, the way she made men turn and look, to exalt her as someone they must have, gave her something that she had never experienced, which was power over the gender that had repressed and abused her. Whether it was her father leaving her when she was a baby, the boys she crushed on that never looked twice at her, or the abusive boyfriend, she finally had the same power over them as they once had over her. That was what she (thought she) wanted. Each passing line makes me appreciate this character that you’ve built more and more.

The way you portrayed the actual Tom was very fitting. He was charming, silver-tongued, and disarming. His powers of deception, of course, were even better. It was like a dance, watching the countess and Tom dodge questions with satiny lies, which would have fooled anyone else but one another. This dynamic was so very important to your main theme, and may I say, you made it work for you quite nicely. You gave us a small glimmer of hope that Tom could change, could make the right decision about how he felt about love and needing people, but inversely, we knew that he turned down that chance, considering he became Voldemort/The Dark Lord and all. He was, as you pointed out, just like her – an equal.

I admit, at first, throughout a majority of the fic, while I loved the countess’s character, I was a little confused about what it had to do with Tom Riddle outside of the title and parallel of their lives. Then you showed her trip to Knockturn Alley and Borgin and Burke’s, and it all became so startlingly clear, you tricky devil, you. Each encounter between them, such as their first tea, their lunch dates, and eventually that final dinner together, added to this perfect storm, the symmetrical psyches.

The moment that he threatened her with his wand was a strong moment in terms of how alike both of them are, because even though a normal/sane person would most likely wet themselves at the sight of a wand ready to kill him/her. But not the countess; she was so certain, so sure – and so right – that Tom could not kill her, despite the fact that he had done so before, that she simply kept on with her point. To make this woman this worldly and this sure of everything, is a difficult task without making her a tragic Mary Sue, but you did wonderfully.

The countess was not saddened or disappointed, for she had already foreseen that that was his fated choice; the choice of Tom Riddle.

This is yet another feather in your cap as to the similarities between your character and Tom. She saw it because she lived it, but to show how she differed from Tom in that she learned her lesson – that power isn’t everything – made the end of the fic superb. The reason I believe that she had learned a lesson is the fact that she knew that Tom would always choose power over love, but she tried to change his mind anyway. That is something that none of the previous versions of her would have bothered to do.

Now, since I’ve summarily adored your characterisation, I shall move on to the next bit, which is writing style. One of the things that I, as a reader, look for is that the writing style leads me at just the right speed, but it doesn’t leave me lost or knowing the end before I get there. You did all of that so well. There was, at no point, where I could not follow or didn’t want to keep going because I already knew what was happening. The flow was excellent, which is very conducive to maximum enjoyment of the story.

I really appreciate the way that you used short and long sentences in all the right places. The way you used them really, in my perception, lent a great deal to how I interpreted the countess’s thoughts, like this passage:

He was tall, bulk and handsome. Most girls melted at the site of him, and so did she. To everybody’s surprise, at the end of her seventh year, the two were dating. They seemed like such a "cute" couple, but the girl held a dark secret: the man was abusive.

The shortness of her description of her boyfriend in the beginning made it seem like that is all that she noticed at first, as well as the ‘Most girls melted…’ part. As the sentences got longer and longer in this paragraph, the content and meaning behind them got deeper and deeper. Whether this was an intention of yours or not, I guess I’ll never know, but it still struck me as important to the meaning of several passages similar to the one above.

Overall, your original character came to life in this piece, and I hope you’re proud of what you accomplished with her. You should be, because having the ability to make such a complex and deep person out of a previously blank page is not an easy thing to do, yet you did.

The truly amazing part is that, if I’m not mistaken, this was written just after HBP came out, yet this Riddle that we see here is also in tune with the Voldemort at the end of DH. Harry gave him a chance to repent, to have some remorse, just like the countess did in your story, but both times, he refused. The way it conforms to canon that came after this fic is truly excellent, which speaks very well to how well you have a grip on Tom’s character.

Anyhow, I hope that you can look at this fic every once in a while and enjoy the work you’ve done, because I’m glad that I got the chance to read this. It’s enlightening on a deeper wavelength, and it’s extremely well written.

Summary: Originally for October Challenge 6: Romance: write a 'ship you don't necessarily support. In his fourth year, Draco discovers that the Malfoy prejudice against Weasleys may have a flaw. Alternate warning: outright lewd.

Draco smiled, the smile that charmed people into doing what he wanted, and opened the door of an unused classroom. Ron showed no signs whatever of cooperation. Draco upgraded the smile to ‘challenging’ and walked in himself, then waited, leaning casually against a desk. It might not work this time, but eventually…

Okay, so here's the scoop. Someone had told me that you'd written a rather marvellous Remus/Lily story, so, in search of it, I had realised that I've never read your work before. I'm a little ashamed of that, considering you're a prolific author on this site and a ver well-reputed one. So, alas, I did not find Remus/Lily, which means that you either deleted it and used it as OF, as stated in your bio, or the recommender was mistaken as to the author of said story.

That being said, I happened across this story as I perused your page. I clicked on it. I don't know why, well, I do. You said that it was lewd. Since lewd = win, I read it.

Just...lol. Though I hope I'm not completely wrong about the nature and the context of the fic, I found it wonderfully amusing. I think my favourite part was the banter in the beginning when Ron was brushing off Draco.

Now, I'm not easily squicked, but I really must ask...please tell me the 'scourgify' wasn't needed for what I think it was. If it is, I might just go shove a bleach-soaked toothbrush up my nose to scrub away the memory.

All in all, I find your writing style engaging and fluid, so I will definitely be checking out some of your less, er...bizarre pieces. Though I Generally wish bad tidings for Snape, I may even tackle In the Eyes of Others, and Hannah (h_vic) swears by it and I fangirl her and all...

That's enough out of me. You're probably wondering who this random bitch is who is rambling on your review page. I'm Jess--Ravenclaw, writer, reviewer, Brit-English pretender (yeah, I'm one of those Americans who tries to be British), the one leading the charge to bring respect back to our House, and the one who promised herself to be on the Most Prolific list by my second anniversary of my first fic being accepted (just passed the first year and i'm already halfway there).

Now, if you're even reading this, you are either a masochist or have nothing better to do. Since I've never actually encountered you outside of MNFF legend, I'll just say that it was nice to meet you.

Summary: This is an alternate version of Book Seven. Harry reluctantly returns to Hogwarts to train with a new DADA teacher, one appointed in specifically for Harry in Dumbledore's will. As the rest of the Wizard World reacts to Dumbledore's defeat, Harry develops the skills he needs to fulfill the Prophecy--including mastery of the Kedavra curse.

Mysteries are explored along the way, particularly the "missing 24 hours" from 1981--the span of time between Hagrid taking Baby Harry from the ruins of Godric's Hollow on Halloween Night, and his arrival to hand off Baby Harry on Privet Drive the following night. The Veil Room in the Department of Mysteries is also revisited. A traitor is uncovered, and Dumbledore's wisdom comes into question. And even when all goes as planned, things are not all they seem.

So, in the end, Harry has...nobody? That just seems kinda wrong. But due to his new status as 'Dark Wizard,' he probably wouldn't let anyone that close, anyway.

This is certainly an interesting alternate take into the great Hunt for Horcruces (love the abridged pluralization), and if I thought Dumbledore turned out to be a prat in the end of DH, you by far (and skillfully) trumped that notion.

Certainly well-written, and judging by the state of my laundry, well-read. I have a hard time thinking of Snape and Potter becoming cronies after that, but it seems an appropriate irony.

All in all, after countless hours of reading and thinking...well done, I say.

PS-I thought Harry slam-dunking Tura and Voldemort talking about it casually was a little much for a 1st-2nd Year rating, but I'm old and jaded, so I secretly enjoyed it, lol.

Author's Response: Yeah, I think Harry would end up a little too scary for regular people. I can envision a far distant epilogue after Snape dies (peacefully, of natural causes) where he and Tura eventually get together. As for the rating...well, nothing's really explicitly stated except in archaic language, so my hope is the kiddies don't really understand it.

Harry defeated Voldemort. Harry married Ginny. Harry and Ginny had five children. Harry disappeared. My name is Lily Potter, and this is the story of what happened when my father returned after six years missing to find my mother about to re-marry. This is the story of myself, my crazy family, and most of all, this is the story of my parents and the man who tried to come between them. (pre-Deathly Hallows)

Ahhhh, I was soooooo right about Malfoy being the 'mastermind'! Sure, I had to mainline the whole story in three hours, but it was totally worth it.

There were more twists and turns than a plate of spaghetti in this story, much to my neverending delight. The more convoluted and dark the plot, the heavier the appeal to my literary sensibilities.

It was heartwarming, dark, frustrating, and fan-bloody-tastic all in one, and I thank you for that!

~Jess

Author's Response: Thank you so much! And congrats on guessing that Mafloy was the mastermind ;) I'm glad you liked the story and all its twists and turns -- I personally always think that stories are more interesting when they have lots of twists and turns!

Hi, Abby! Your author page has been lovingly recommended by Hannah/coolh5000. While I’m not quite ready to tackle Halfway to Infinity, I thought it would do to pay a visit to you anyway and show some love for one of your older stories first.

I’ve read a few different renditions on Peter’s decline into treachery, so I suppose I came into reading your story with a few preconceptions. However, that being said, I was impressed by the thought processes behind his decision. Your portrayal of Peter’s character here is delicious. The narrative really lent well to showing him as a relatively simple person who was struggling with complex things. First it was whether he was doing the right thing, which seemed such a simple question to answer.

But I so very much love the italicised memory bits and how they showed Peter’s buttons being pushed. Each unintentional jibe and slight propelled him further and further toward the unthinkable. Even James and Lily asking him and thanking him profusely added fuel to the fire because he was clearly the second choice. Sirius bluntly reminded Peter that he was the oft-forgotten Marauder who no one would expect to have such a vital role. But I really think Remus was the one who tipped the scales the most, insinuating that Peter wasn’t good enough and couldn’t take care of himself. It shows how each and every one of his friends stabbed him in the back and didn’t even know they’d done it.

It’s fitting that, in the end, Peter’s desire to prove himself was the mitigating factor in his betrayal, even though he really wished that someone would find him out and keep him from doing it. He really did love his friends, but he craved their respect more. I truly felt badly for him that he saw that he was such a throwaway that he no longer owed anything to the only friends he’d ever had. But the worst part is that he, while still weak-minded in allowing himself to be talked into selling out the Potters, is that he had a point. Always fourth-best. Always ‘just Peter’. Always the weakest, the meekest. The way you used that to your advantage was so, so good.

At any rate, this story is gorgeous, and I’m glad I read it. I’m not what you’d call a Marauder fan and I hardly ever read it, but it’s nice that, when I do, I’m fortunate enough to come across stories like yours to pique my interest.

Summary: During Christmas break in his sixth year, Harry has some company over the holidays. He and Ginny have a sweet, heartwarming Christmas day together, filled with snowflakes, gift exchanges, and a heating fire.

This fic is AU and VERY fluffy.

Originally written for ChrissyOfGryffindor (Christine) for the 2006 Turnip Secret Santa.

I'm dropping by due to the Ravenclaw Story of the Week, as Wendy outlined in her review.

While Harry/Ginny is my least favorite ship of all time (I would rather read Crabbe/Goyle...seriously), I did enjoy the imagery and the descriptive style that you brought. Everything was easy to picture in my mind, maybe except the last part, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you probably ran short on time, because with the quality of the rest of the fic, I don't believe you would have left it like that for any other reason.

I would be interested to know why Harry was at Hogwarts and not at the Burrow. As far as I know, he had a standing invitation to be there any time he wanted, as he was sort of another son to the Weasleys. Was there some sort of falling out over Fred's death? Did Fred actually die in this alternate universe? Is this DH-compliant (as in, what about Moldy Voldy)? I think you could have added much to this story by giving a more solid background about these events, mainly why Harry is there in the first place.

Overall, in terms of how much I liked it, I'm halfway between 'like' and 'meh,' but that's more because I'm more into Dark/Angsty stuff where the characters suffer, so this is a little out of my realm. I did appreciate your style in terms of imagery, because it really felt like I was there, playing in the snow right along with them.

This review is definitely not SPEW-worthy, as I am currently skiving off of writing and should really be going (bloody procrastinator, I am), but I hope it adds to your experience as an author, because I know it adds to mine to both give and receive reviews.

Summary: ‘Pet snakes, three-headed dogs, rivalries and secrets. This is where it all started, and I was caught in the line of fire... or rather, I was the one who lit the match and caused the blaze. Funny how life can change completely in an instant. This is an account of the end of my life as I once knew it.’

Eighty years after Hogwarts is founded, Gryffindor’s friendship with Slytherin seems on the brink of falling apart. Meanwhile, young Aramis Selby endeavours to discover the Parseltongue’s secrets. What he finds will change Hogwarts for ever. But his interfering may seal his own fate...

Ooh, I love a good tale, and this one is definitely a tale. It reads almost like a campfire story, which makes it a great way to spend a quiet half-hour.

You took on the marvelous job of bringing the giant squid to Hogwarts, and you did so plausibly. I can almost picture Aramis hauling little Dennis Creevey out of the water nearly a thousand years after this story takes place. It seems like something that he would do as penance for his snooping around and guilt for being the catalyst that destroyed the relationship between Salazar and Godric.

This was a fascinating read, so thank you for writing it. Happy writing!

~Jess, Ravenclaw House.

Author's Response: Thank you for the lovely review! I'm very glad you enjoyed the story and that you could see it fitting in well with canon. Much appreciated!

It's startling how these were written pre-DH, yet they aren't all that far off from what actually happened. Perhaps you channeled your inner Jo and knew that Harry was going to die.

The language you use is very beautiful, and the meter is nearly perfect. It rolls so easily from the tongue, which is how a sonnet is supposed to work.

Very nicely done, indeed. :)

Jess

Author's Response: Hey Jess - a belated thank you for the review! Regarding my inner Jo and Harry's death - yes, I thought he would die, I even thought perhaps he should die. I wrote the story and this sort of goes with it. Like JKR, though, there was more to it; unlike her, I did not bring him back, although for the most part that worked nicely, and we wouldn't have our Potter boys if she hadn't. ;) I wrote these for a sonnet challenge eons ago, although I ended up entering a different one (The Last Black.) I'm glad the rhythm worked for you! Thank you for reading these and leaving a review! ~Gina :)

This is the story of four boys. This is the story of a boy from a family he wants to escape from. This is the story of a boy who is from a family he loves deeply, but lacks the gift of a best friend. This is the story of a boy who has been living with a curse his entire life, fighting to overcome it. This is the story of a boy who wishes to show people what he can do. This is the story of how these four boys came to know each other, of how they became friends. This is the story of their unbreakable bond, of a bond that could survive any test, any trial. This is a story that will ultimately end in tragedy.

Nominated for a 2007 and 2009 Quicksilver Quill Award - Best Marauder's Era
Featured Mugglenet Fanfiction, October 2011

Ah, after a few days of reading, I've finally caught up with all 76 chapters.

It's so wonderful to delve deeper into the world of Harry Potter. Seeing the Marauders begin and seeing the beginning of the end of the intrepid group is one of the aspects of the story about which I have been looking forward to learning. Your tales are fascinating, engaging, and I look forward to the rest of them.

Cheers and keep writing!!!

Author's Response: I love reading all the books, trying to find out as much as I can from them and I really want JKR to write her own Marauders series. But I doubt that will happen, so I wrote my own! I'm glad you like this! I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. Thanks for reading!

What an awkward exchange between our happy couple and the Dursleys. We always knew they were horrid people, but acting like that is simply the limit.

Well written, looking forward to the next chapter, as always.

Author's Response: Yeah it was pretty awkward, but it had to be done. Lily just wouldn't be Lily if she didn't go ask (or yell, really) Petunia to come to the wedding. They are horrible, I agree. Thanks for reading!

Awww, nothing like a bit of well-placed fluff to make the heart grow fond of a character. Sirius's words were very in character, IMO, and quite bittersweet, considering that we know how their lives turn out. I thought it was very interesting that the Dursleys showed up, though they most like would not, had the wedding not been in Muggle style.

All in all, the emotions were believable, real, and I'm feeling in a particularly fluffy, cloud 9 mood right now, so kudos for that!

Looking forward to 82!

Author's Response: Yeah, there had to be some nice fluff to balance out what's been happening. That was what I tried to do with Sirius's speech - since we know what happens, but they don't. The Dursleys definitely wouldn't have shown up if it wasn't Muggle style. Well, Petunia may have but Vernon wouldn't. Yay for cloud 9 moods! Chapter 82 may be up today, but I'm not sure. Thanks for reading!